At issue is an anti-illegal immigration law Gov. Ron DeSantis signed in February, which prompted the arrest of a U.S. citizen from Georgia and led to a federal judge finding the state’s chief legal officer in civil contempt of court.
The federal government intervened on Monday, filing a brief stating that U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams erred in her temporary block on the enforcement of SB 4C, the law that makes it a first-degree misdemeanor for a person to enter the state as an “unauthorized alien.”
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Following arrest of US citizen, Federal judge block extends on Florida immigration law
Florida lawmakers passed the law during a special session earlier this year to align the state with President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration.
Uthmeier already tried to get the appellate court to rescind the bar on the law, but it refused. The Florida Immigrant Coalition, the Farmworker Association of Florida, and two women lacking permanent legal status brought suit against the state in April.
Both Williams in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida and the Eleventh Circuit ruled that federal law likely preempts the state law.
Four months into his appointment by DeSantis as attorney general, Uthmeier faced Williams’ contempt ruling for his disobedience of her order to call off enforcement of SB 4C. Florida Highway Patrol and local police arrested dozens after the court order on April 4, including a 20-year-old U.S. citizen in Leon County.
Two arrests
The first biweekly report of arrests that Williams ordered Uthmeier to submit in her contempt ruling shows that St. Johns County arrested two men on counts of illegal entry on May 29.Uthmeier, DeSantis’ former chief of staff, has also asked the U.S. Supreme Court to step in, submitting an application to Justice Clarence Thomas on June 17 to remove the bar on SB 4C’s enforcement.
Attorneys representing the plaintiffs wrote to the Supreme Court on Wednesday that the state hadn’t proved that the block on the law caused it irreparable harm.
“Florida of course has a wide range of nonimmigration criminal laws to address violent crime and drug trafficking, as well as myriad other crimes, and nothing in the injunction remotely limits the enforcement of those laws,” the response states. “Indeed, enforcing Florida’s preempted state immigration regime will harm public safety by eroding community trust in law enforcement.”
Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com.
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This article appears in Jul 3-9, 2025.